The French military presence in Eastern Europe officially qualified as an “external operation”

More precisely defined contours. In a ministerial decree published last Sunday in the Official Gazette, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, officially described the French military presence on NATO’s eastern flank as “operations in Eastern Europe.” An external operation that became even more precise this Tuesday with the announcement of the reinforcement in the coming weeks of its military presence on this flank.

February 20, 2022 to February 19, 2024

This text, which entered into force the day after its publication, covers the period between February 20, 2022 and February 19, 2024. It also grants the soldiers participating in the operation “the benefit of greater coverage of the risks of disability and death provided for by article L. 4123-4 of the defense code”, we found out.

In detail, this text of law enumerates the provisions in case of injuries to soldiers and indicates, by implication, the possibility of considering a soldier fatally wounded in a foreign operation as “dead for France”.

The objective is to guarantee the military, “as well as their heirs”, “the benefit of greater coverage of the risks of disability and death”, it is known, in the decree also signed by the Delegate Minister of Public Accounts. Gabriel Attal.

Several hundred French soldiers

At the moment, France is the framework nation for a NATO mission in Romania, which currently has 350 French soldiers, as well as Belgian and Dutch soldiers. Some 300 French soldiers are also stationed in Estonia as part of NATO.

Paris is preparing to double its workforce on the ground in November and deploy armored personnel carriers (VBCI) and Leclerc tanks to Romania in the coming weeks, as well as reinforcements to Estonia.

This decision by President Emmanuel Macron to “raise our defensive posture on the eastern flank of Europe” was taken “in view of the situation on NATO’s eastern flank” and “the violence of the fighting in Ukraine,” the French minister argued. Sebastien Lecornu. during a hearing before the Senate Defense Committee.